


She's Gonna Save Me

by WitchWithWifi



Category: Lost in Space (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, Half of this is ripped right from 2x02, Hope I did okay, It's the kelp scene but different, Prompt Fill!, hurt/comfort?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22378183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchWithWifi/pseuds/WitchWithWifi
Summary: Prompt: The part where Judy is treating Don after he is bitten by the kelp.Set in episode 2x02, with a slight difference in direction. Canon-divergent.
Relationships: Judy Robinson/Don West
Comments: 16
Kudos: 63





	She's Gonna Save Me

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in like two hours and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm leaning towards happy about it. This is for the always amazing Alpha787 who sent me this prompt. Enjoy!

Judy liked to think of herself as level-headed. She was a doctor. Her hands had never shaken when she assisted in surgery. She had never faltered with chest compressions. Even after Evan had died, she’d managed to hold herself together until she got home.

But seeing Don with poisonous kelp wrapped around his leg was enough to make her chest seize with panic. She shouted instructions at Will, and balled her hands into fists before taking a deep breath, and turned to her patient. Smith’s face appeared in the doorway, but Judy shut it before the crazy lady could spew more lies. Her mother may trust the woman, but Judy couldn’t. Not when her friend- maybe her _best_ friend- was telling her how he couldn’t move either of his legs, and “That’s bad, isn’t it? It sounds bad to me.”

“You’re fine.” Judy ground out the words through gritted teeth. She threw her helmet off, and dug out a plasma torch from the back of one of the cabinets. She wasn’t even sure if it was the tool she needed to use, but she sure as hell wasn’t about to touch the kelp even with gloved hands.The toxin had cut through the thick layers of Don’s suit, and she wasn’t about to risk herself- no matter how badly she wanted to rip the damn stuff off of him. She was the only doctor in the galaxy, and she couldn’t save Don if she was paralyzed on the ground.

She’d never operated a plasma torch outside of training, but for the past year, she’d been doing a lot of things she hadn’t done outside of training. It would be fine. Don would be fine.

“That’s… fancy.” Don’s words were beginning to slur slightly. Judy tried not to think about what that meant. “Wait, you’re going to use that on me?”

“I need to cut the kelp off your leg, _now_.” Judy said, her words clipped and cold. If she didn’t focus on his whining, she would be fine. She could get it off in a few blasts. She fired it up, and aimed the purple light on the kelp. Thankfully, the plasma made it easy enough to slice through the kelp, but did not cut into the suit.

Don, however, didn’t like being ignored. “Please be careful!” He yelled, sitting up in protest.

“Stop moving!” She pulled the torch back from his flailing arms.

“I’m just saying, that’s my favorite leg!”

Judy toyed with the idea of purposely letting the toxin reach his tongue. It might get him to shut up. “That’s why I have to cut the stuff off,” She explained, and she was very much not calm, and not patient. She was trying to save his life, and he was being a _brat_. “Because whatever toxin is affecting your body is coming from there!”

She moved around to his other side, barely glancing up as he reached up and gripped his head. “Something’s happening. Something’s happening, I can’t feel my head.” A rare note of fear was evident in his voice as he lashed his head back and forth, like he was trying to protest the toxin itself.

Judy had no time for his antics. “Good, if I make a mistake, it won’t hurt.”

Then he said “That’s not funny.” And it came out all wrong, and suddenly Judy was very, very scared because the toxin _had_ reached his tongue, and it was the opposite of a relief. But she couldn’t look up at his face. If she looked up at his face, she would lose her nerve, and forget to cut away the kelp and then he would die, and she would lose her best friend.

So she ignored him and kept cutting. She had no idea what was happening to her mom, or her sister, or anyone in her family, and she wasn’t ready to know. If Penny and Maureen were dead, she didn’t want to know. Not yet. She lasered and torched until every last bit of kelp was cut from his suit. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. The toxic plant was off, and his leg seemed to be fine.

Stepping around the mess she had made was not easy, and briefly she considered making Smith be the one to deal with the toxic material. But no, she couldn’t trust that witch with a potentially debilitating toxin- even if she did seem “reformed”. So Judy kicked it all to the side and focused on her patient.

Don was finally quiet, and it was terrifying. She took his pulse, and her breath caught in her throat, the terror coming back in a terrifying wave. He wheezed out a breath, and she tried to speak as calmly as she could. “Don, I think you’re going into an anaphylactic shock, so I’m going to give you a blood transfusion, okay?”

She was already paging through everyone’s charts when he managed to slur out, “My hero.”

“Hopefully.” Judy closed the folder. “Lucky for you, the only real doctor on this ship has the same blood type as you.” She started pulling out all the necessary supplies.

“Uh,” His lips tried to form words as his eyes landed on the needle, and widened in horror. “Doc, I’m not s’good with needles.”

“It’s either this, or I send you into a medically induced coma!” She finally let the panic bleed into her voice, and the sentence ended in a yell. His eyes remained wide, but he dragged them from the needle to her face. A face which she knew was contorted into unmasked fear. A face which a real doctor would never let their patient see. But she didn’t feel like a real doctor right now. Because this was _Don_. Her Don. “And I- we- can’t lose you. You do not get to die on me." She stared him down, hoping he couldn't see how desperate she felt. How it was _she_ who needed _him_. "Alright?”

Don let out a slow, wheezing exhale, and managed a slight, jerky nod. “’Kay.”

“Okay.” Judy let out a calming breath, and began setting up, and prepared both his arm and hers. “Just… Relax. We need to let the transfusion run its course.”

“Sure, sure.” Don’s head still flopped around, but he was numb, which meant he didn’t feel the needle slide into his vein. Doing it on herself was a little more difficult- especially in the dim light, but she got her own in a couple of tries, and leaned back on the cot she had pulled up, and let out a long, deep breath, trying to release the tension from her muscles. They were hooked up, and he was going to be fine. Probably.

Of course, that was the moment her dad showed up, asking about the plasma torch and evading answers when she demanded to know what he needed it for. She desperately wanted to follow him, to help him with whatever he was trying to do to help her mom, and her sister, but she was stuck. If she left Don now, he would surely die from the toxin. She had to trust her dad, and Will. They would do whatever it took to save their family. She warned him about the toxicity of the kelp, and then he was gone, with both of her torches in hand.

And she sat back. And waited. Her com buzzed every two minutes, reminding her of the impending countdown. Reminding her that her mom and Penny were right in the strike zone.

A tear slipped down her cheek, and she reached up to wipe it away. She could not be crying now. She looked over to see Don already watching her with glassy, red eyes. She couldn’t tell if the transfusion was working or not.

Her com beeped again, and she choked on a sob. Twenty-five minutes. They were running out of time, and she was stuck here.

“Hey.” Don’s voice was gravelly, and his lips barely moved when he spoke, but it was something. She blinked the tears out of her eyes.

“Hey.” Her own voice was thick with emotion, and she tried in vain to compose her expression. “You’re gonna be fine.”

“So’s Pennnn… an Maureen.” He managed. He could hardly move his head now, but his eyes- even under heavy lids, even bloodshot to hell- remained steadfastly trained on her.

Judy shook her head. “You don’t know that.” Her head thudded dully on the mattress, and she squeezed her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms- the exact thing she wasn’t supposed to do. But how else was she supposed to keep from crying in front of him? This was worse than being trapped in the ice. Back then, her family had all been safe. This time, the roles were reversed. She was fine, but she was still separated from them. She couldn’t save everyone at once, and that terrified her.

“Mmm,” Don’s eyes slid shut, stayed shut for a moment too long, and then he opened them again. “They’re crazy.”

The statement was so unexpected, so absurd in the moment, that Judy actually managed a laugh. It was a short, aborted thing that stopped as soon as it started, but still. “Gee, thanks.”

His chin wobbled, like he wanted to shake his head. “No, I mean… You’re crazy. All of you. So they’ll figure something out. Always do.” His words still ran together like watercolors on a page, but still. He was speaking, and that was a good thing.

Judy tried for a smile, but she was still too caught up in her worry. “I don’t know. We’ve caught so many lucky breaks, but now?” She shook her head. “I think our luck’s running out.”

The corners of Don’s lips twitched. “Your mom’s too stubborn to let lightnin’ get in her way.”

He was right, of course. But too much was uncertain, and she couldn’t see what was happening. She couldn’t tell if her dad and Will had flooded the garage for who knows what reason, and she was too afraid to comm and ask.

She wanted Don to reach out, and grab her hand, like he usually would when she was afraid, and stressed. But he was paralyzed. So she did it for him. It worried her, when his fingers didn’t react, didn’t twine with hers like they normally did. But she kept his gaze, relieved every time she saw him blink, and breathe, and flare his nostrils. He was fighting it. She tugged her cot up next to his, and laid back, staring at him. It was quiet for a short time, save for the wheeze of his breath, and the pounding of blood in her ears.

She heard yelling from the hallway. Her dad had left the med bay’s door open when he had come through earlier, and she saw him, Will, and Smith run past, suited up with helmets on. Her dad was soaking wet. She sat up, but leaning forward tugged on the needle still in her arm and she winced.

“I need to find out what’s going on.” Judy tried to pull her hand from Don’s tight grip. “Don, let me go, I’m just going to comm them-“ She stopped short as she realized. He managed a weak smile and squeezed her fingers. “It’s working.”

“It’s working.” Even his words sounded clearer, and she let out another hysterical, half laugh.

“It’s working!” She squeezed his hand again, and then did have to pull her hand back to reach for her comm. “Dad? Will? Don’s okay. Where are Mom and Penny?”

It was a few seconds before her dad’s voice came through. “Uh. They’re working on something.”

That was enough to make the smile slide off of her face. “What do you mean, they’re _working on something_? The lightning is in five minutes!”

“I know Judy!” Her dad yelled. Judy sat back, stunned. He never yelled, unless he was really, really scared. “I know.” His voice was softer, and it cracked on the last word. “We’re using the Chariot a Faraday Cage.” He explained how Penny had given Maureen the idea to tie the rigging back together and climb it to reach the Chariot. He switched comm to public so they could all hear each other.

“Maureen, talk to me.”

Her mom wasn’t in the Chariot. The lightning was one minute away and they weren’t there yet, and her dad gave the order to strap in and Judy was swallowing down her rising hysteria. She was so afraid, she felt like _she_ was the one going numb.

Don held out his hand. “We don’t have seatbelts, so we’d better hang on, princess.” He was so calm, it was almost laughable. She was the one who was supposed to be grounded. His hand helped, though. It was clammy, and rough, and real, and he looked into her eyes and promised, “They are going to make it.”

The messages came in static-y and chopped.

“Stay with me.”

“We’re in.”

The doors were taking too long, and Judy could hear the lightning from outside. The Jupiter shook, and her cot slid, thudding against the side of the exam table.

Judy squeezed Don’s hand, squeezed her eyes shut, and braced herself against him. For what, she didn’t know. She felt Don tuck his head on top of hers. His nose was in her hair, and his lips were against her forehead.

Penny’s voice quaked over the comm. “I love you. I love yo-” Then the lightning hit, and all Judy heard was static.

Then a whir.

“We got juice.” Will reported.

“Hold on!” Her dad instructed.

The ship shook and shuddered, and then Judy had to grip the edge of the table because they were turning, and rising- and they were off. They were finally, _finally_ in the air. Judy leaned back, realizing she had practically burrowed into Don's side.

They made it. But her mom… Penny… “I have to go check on them.” Judy said, beginning to unhook the transfusion. “You’re okay now, this should have been enough.”

“I feel great.” Don promised, his words clear and pronounced. He even offered her a thumbs-up. She taped up both of their arms and, after a moment’s hesitation, pressed a kiss against his cheek and ran out of the room as her dad reported the ramp was up- as if that would have deterred her otherwise. She opened the hatch and nearly jumped down the ladder, though she had to favor her right arm on the way down.

Will and her dad were on her heels. The sight that greeted her was… horrifying. The Chariot was blackened and burned beyond belief. Was that how Faraday Cages were _supposed_ to look? The wheels of the Chariot were gone, and the lights had exploded. The doors were smoking, but that didn’t stop them from running right up to it. Her dad needed a crow bar to pry open the damn thing while they screamed for the family members trapped inside.

They were alive. Her sister and her mom. They were alive and they were fine, and they were there.

Judy would need to patch them up. She would need to be a doctor in a moment, but for now she was a daughter, and a sister. Don was right. They made it.

\---

Later, after she had made sure her sister and her mom were fine, she got to turn all of her attention back to Don. He had seemed to be napping, so she shut the door and began cleaning the kelp off the floor. Debbie had to be locked out so she didn’t eat it all.

“Hey Doc- uh, Judy?” His voice was scratchy and hesitant.

At his words, Judy nearly dropped the gauze she was holding. Don never called her Judy, not unless something was really wrong. “Yeah?” She came up to his side. “What’s wrong? Is it your leg?” She was already rolling up the pant of his leg before he could speak, checking for any sign of infection.

“No, no, I feel great.” He promised, weakly trying to bat her hands away. She frowned at him. He smiled- a real smile, this time.

“That’s probably the morphine I gave you.” She moved back up to his side. He reached for her hand, and she acquiesced.

He was still grinning. “Has anyone told you that you have a delightful bedside manner?”

The doctor rolled her eyes and sat on the cot. “So.”

“So?”

“What’s wrong?”

Don’s smile fell. “What do you mean?”

Judy felt her patience grow thin. “You- well, you called me Judy.”

“And?”

God, did he really not know? “You never call me Judy unless something is wrong.”

"No I don't.”

“You really do.”

A frown wrinkled his forehead. “Huh. Well, _Judy_ , I wanted to thank you for saving my life… again.” He swung his legs up and off of the table, sitting so he was mirroring her, and he cut off her protests. “You fixed me up good as new. I even get to keep my favorite leg.”

He knocked their feet together for good measure, and beamed when he earned a genuine laugh from her. “I had a pretty fussy patient.”

“He sounds like a real charmer.” His expression turned from playful to serious when he squeezed her hand. “Seriously, though.” He was leaning forward and she was too. He pressed his forehead to hers. “Thank you.” It was more of a breath than words, meant to be heard only by her.

He looked so soft in the lantern light. His dark eyes reflected the golden glow, and not for the first time, she found herself unable to look away from him. They had all almost died today. She had almost lost him.

Neither of them were in a hurry to move. The rest of the ship had fallen asleep long ago- her family was probably still in one big pile in her parents’ room. She longed to join them. And yet…

Penny was right about something in her book- Judy _was_ ready to move out. But she wasn’t ready to be alone. And Don was right there, and pulling her in, close, until they were both lying face-to-face on the cot, and she realized what was going to happen right before it did.

It was a slow kiss. One saved for quiet, late nights, or sleepy mornings, or we-beat-death-again days. It was their first kiss, and yet he felt familiar against her. The way his mouth fit so perfectly against hers, and how he pressed a hand against her cheek and she leaned into it instinctively. Everything about him simply felt right, and her heart swelled with the knowledge that this was happening and it was _wonderful._

**Author's Note:**

> I am a sucker for Judy and Don taking care of each other :)


End file.
